N o b o d y
by infinitedestiny
Summary: Today was the day that should have been." ; "Should've been what?" ; And the blonde had to tighten his grip on his fists and try his hardest not to cry, not again, but his voice cracked anyway as he choked, "Mine." // Roxiri&AkuRoku hints. // One-Shot


**N o b o d y;**

Feverish, but in a _good way_, if such a thing was possible. Shaking, trembling, sweating in sick and yet sweet anticipation. Bedsheets that were, all of a sudden, _way too heavy_. And yet, he didn't mind. Let it all pile onto him. Let it all take as much out of him as it all desired. He didn't care, he could take it. Tomorrow, it wouldn't matter, nothing would matter anymore.

Tomorrow was his fifteenth birthday.

Climbing into his soft, comfortable bed, he couldn't shake the grin off of his face much less than he could shake the sand out of his shoes after a long day on the beach. He thought about them, Riku and Kairi, his best friends. The way he and Riku would race around the beach, laughing and joking, and Kairi would sit on the warm sand, watching them with a hopeless smile on her beautiful face.

Ah, Kairi.

Pin-straight red hair that cascaded down to her shoulders; eyes as clear and blue as the sky, with as much hope and effervesence radiating through them as the stars offered in said sky. She giggled quietly, under her breath, a sound like bells to his ears. And she never stopped smiling, not once. He always liked to think that she was smiling just for her.

And Riku never noticed, or maybe if he did, he chose to ignore it. He always wanted the best for his best friend, sharing a playful punch with him as a job-well-done. He was quiet if he wasn't racing, his silky silver hair blowing in the wind gracefully. Lost in thought, lost in the breeze.

Every day was the same comforting routine.

And now, as he lay there under the covers, staring at the ceiling, he couldn't wait to be there again; the soft sand underneath his feet and burning his skin, but in the kind of way that almost felt _nice_; the sounds of the water lapping at the shore and trudging back to sea; the way the sand felt itchy in his blonde, spiky hair whenever Riku offered to bury both him and Kairi in the sand; and the way that the sand Riku piled on top of him felt cool and wet against his flesh, because Riku always dug deep and always piled high.

Tomorrow would be the same comforting routine, only with an edge. Tomorrow he would turn fifteen.

With his excitement and confidence coursing through his body, he decided then and there that after the beach party that his friends would undoubtedly throw for him, he would pull Kairi aside and tell her how he felt, under the giant sky blanketed with stars shining brightly but that could never compare to her eyes.

Yes, tomorrow. Just a few more hours to pass, and then, it would all form around him fittingly, like it was life molded _just for him_.

--

It was cold, _too cold._ He couldn't place where it was coming from; did he leave the window open the night before?

And it was quiet. _Much too quiet._ Did he sleep in late? Why had nobody woken him up so he wouldn't miss out on the fun? Maybe they just didn't want to disturb the birthday boy from his peaceful sleep.

And yet, everything was different, even under the logic he felt coated in at the moment. Nothing was the same and everything was out of place, where it shouldn't be but was anyway. Wary, he opened his eyes.

Darkness.

Were his eyes still closed or something?

He stretched out his arm, searching for his blanket, but felt nothing beneath him. Where was his bed? Where was _he_?

Trembling, he touched his chest, hoping he was at least clothed in an unknown place. He was, but he didn't feel the soft pajamas he expected to feel. Instead, he felt a rough material, much heavier than his PJ's.

Now more than frightened, he spoke up, his voice quiet and hoarse. "...hello?"

The silence that returned to him was almost deafening, in a way.

"Hello?" he called again, not expecting an answer, but much too scared to be there in the silence.

"Hey, kid," a soft, tired voice responded to him. "You're up, huh?"

Familiar, and yet a total stranger all at once. "...mm?"

The other voice chuckled softly, barely heared to him but audible enough. "Man, you're out of it. Sleeptalkin' and everything."

Sleep talking? So maybe...he _hadn't_ opened his eyes after all.

And suddenly, there was light, too much light, too much white light, in his eyes. It almost hurt his head, after being accostumed to the dark for so long.

There was white, and slowly, another color blended into his vision. Was that...red? Such a vibrant color on white.

The stranger was back, and he could note a smile in the voice. "Well, hey there, sleepy head." Another chuckle.

He blinked a few times, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Gradually, his eyes focused, and he could see that hovering above him was a man with wild red hair that spiked back as if a great gust of wind had blown in his face. Strange little tattoos were under his emerald-green eyes, and he held a sly grin on his face. Clearly, this was the source of the unfamiliarly familiar voice.

The stranger held out his hand and announced sharply, "Names Axel. Welcome aboard, partner."

He sat up, staring at Axel's hand, wondering whether or not he should shake it or try to break a bone. Deciding on neither, he looked up and croaked, "Roxas."

Axel took his hand back without a word, but the smile never left his face. "Roxas," he repeated, as if trying out the name. Then he was silent for a few more moments, as if calculating something in his head. "Hm. Only with an X. Seems like it really was meant to..." He let his voice trail off after that.

"Where am I?" Roxas spoke, a little clearer this time. Of course, that wasn't the one question looming in his mind; he did have many many more, but there was just so little time to ask before he spiraled into panic.

The older one's eyes became more excited, with a hint of knowledge behind them. "Castle Oblivion."

A tilt of the head from the blonde.

"Organization XIII's headquarters."

Roxas blinked once or twice, sounding out each syllable out loud to commit it to memory as he spoke them. "Or-gan-i-zay-shun Thir-teen..." Engraved in his memory, yes, but still unfamiliar. "I want to go home," he said confidently, as if Axel would send him back on command.

Axel shook his head, red spikes tossing about. "Sorry, kid. But today's your day. Since your birth - or should I say existance that was never meant to be - you were chosen to join the Organization once you reached the right age. You're fifteen today, after all."

Roxas felt his crystal blue eyes widen in shock. _Oh crap, it was his birthday._

**Fifteen.**

"Take me back!" he screamed wildly, thrashing his arms about, but finding it hard to move in whatever he was wearing. A black cloak? Where were his comfy PJ's

The redhead grabbed hold of his wrists without trouble and held him still. "You can't. Sorry, kiddo."

"No!" The fifteen-year-old yelled, feeling warm, salty tears flood down his face. "No! You _can't_! It's my _birthday!_"

The look that crossed Axel's face looked like it was almost that of pain. "But Roxas...you were never meant to exist. _We _were never meant to exist. Sora was."

"Sora?" A sniffle.

"Your...somebody."

Roxas fell still in Axel's grip. The tears flowed soundlessly as he stared at the shiny white floor beneath Axel and his black boots. Never meant to exist? Sora? His _somebody_? He couldn't understand. "What...are you talking about?" His voice was shaky with crying.

Axel let a sigh escape from his mouth. "Your life...was never yours. It was Sora's."

That was like a blow to the stomach to the blonde teen as he tried to take that into his system. How could he say something like that? His life belonged to _him _and _him alone_. Whoever this Sora kid was, he'd have to get his own.

"Would you like to see?" Axel questioned, the pain in his voice more obvious this time.

Sucking in another breath and a guaranteed new army of tears, Roxas nodded. From his blurred vision, he saw Axel lift his hand and watched as a swirling black portal formed. He felt a little dizzier watching it spin like that.

"Let's go, Roxy," Axel said softer, pulling at the wrist he still had held gently.

Roxas nodded, not bothering to object to the unexpected and certainly unwanted nickname, and they stepped into the swirling darkness.

--

As the darkness cleared up, Riku was the first thing Roxas saw. He was smiling widely, holding something behind his back - a box? - and talking to someone beside him. When the darkness inched farther away, he saw that it was _her_, Kairi. Beautiful as ever. Ah, what a marvelous birthday present she would have made.

And as the shadows peeled away yet farther, he saw who Axel must have referred to as his somebody.

Sora.

Bue eyes just like his, and a smile spread wide over his face. Tan skin from obviously being in the sun a lot, and spikey brown hair almost as wild as Axel's, only pointing everywhere. He held a piece of birthday cake - _Roxas' _birthday cake - in one hand and a balloon in the other. Roxas hoped that his hair would pop the balloon.

Sun set on the three friends as they sat peacefully on the oddly shaped tree on the beach; Roxas watched with horrible envy as they ate cake happily and cheerfully, talking as they went along. Their laughter rang throughout the blonde's ears like a horribly haunting melody that one begged to forget. He heard himself growl low beaneath his breath, and he could have sworn that he saw Sora tense up for just a second.

Then Kairi stood up on the tree, and Roxas' attention suddenly shifted to the pretty girl.

"B-be careful, Kairi," he mumbled, even though he knew she was good at balancing. He smiled as she walked along the trunk with ease; she was too perfect.

And then his smile faded as she plucked a small paopu fruit off of one of the giant leaves on the tree. What was she doing?

His frown turned into shock as he watched her blush and giggle and offer the paopu fruit to the brunette boy; his replacement, his somebody. Sora took it with a shy smile and split it in half, offering the other piece to Kairi.

Roxas felt himself clentch his fists furiously, more hot tears running down his face as he shut his eyes, trying to block out the vision he was seeing before him.

Axel had grabbed a hold of the smaller one's wrists once more; Roxas had honestly forgotten that the redhead was there, and he was suddenly angry with himself for being able to forget something so simple without effort and yet not something that he tried so hard to banish from his memory.

Once again, the darkness was swallowing the two of them once again, not that it mattered; Roxas couldn't see anything, anyway.

--

He sat there blankly, emotionlessly as he stared at the bright floor of Castle Oblivion. Axel sat next to him, though he could barely feel his presence there anymore; he could barely feel _anything_.

"Well, at least you're _acting _like a Nobody now," Axel had muttered sometime during the time that the boys had made it back to Castle Oblivion.

Roxas hadn't responded.

He was sure that other had come to the room, to "marvel the new member" as Axel put it every time someone entered the room. Roxas never looked at their faces, though, only saw the familiar black boots scuffling onto the white floor. They'd stop in front of him for a few minutes, and then venture off into another part of the castle after exchanging a few words with Axel.

He heard one of the other members explain to him softly, "Roxas, don't worry about it. We're nobodies, we don't have feelings. We don't have hearts."

Axel told whoever it was to stop after that.

For somebody who didn't have any emotions, Axel sure seemed to sound like he was in pain a lot of the time.

Hours ticked by, and Roxas remained in that one room with the older man, who watched over him with patience. He didn't move, didn't speak. He barely even wanted to breathe. After all, what difference would it make?; he was _never meant to exist_.

As night fell outside the castle, the blonde's eyes flicked out the window to see the darkness having taken over the sunlight. Sighing softly to himself, he looked up at Axel and said softly, "Take me back."

The other looked at him cautiously, the hint of hurt in his emerald green eyes once more. "Are you sure, Roxas?"

He nodded, showing no signs of struggle or means of harm toward Axel. "Yes."

"...alright."

--

Roxas guessed that he had shown good self control inside the castle, because as they arrived in Roxas' old room, Axel left him to tend to himself until he needed him once more. He looked down at his hands and sighed with disappointment as he saw that he was transparent in the dusty room. Well, maybe that's why Axel didn't worry; he couldn't kill Sora at this point if he _tried_.

At the thought of the brunette's name, Roxas looked up and trudged over to the bed, looming over the figure that was in it. _His bed_. In _his pajamas_. Sora was breathing softly, and Roxas watched as the covers rose and fell gently with each breath he took. His wished for Sora to feel what it was like to feel hysteria, panic overwhelming in his chest as he realized that he was losing everything he came to know. Oh, if only.

There it was again, the fury. He trembled as he felt it shoot through his body, feeling suddenly strong whereas before he felt weak to the point of collapse.

If Sora felt this, he stirred in his sleep, yawning and then sitting up, staring at the wall.

Or...staring at _Roxas._

Could he _see _him?

It didn't matter. Roxas was furious, watching him lay there in his bed, after having celebrated _his _birthday with _his _friends. And while Roxas's stomach felt uneasy, Sora's was probably bubbling from the paopu fruit he had shared with the girl _he _loved.

Axel must have felt Roxas' fury, for Roxas felt the darkness pull at his cloak, trying to swallow him once again. He couldn't give in, not yet.

He clentched his fists and spoke through his teeth. "Today was the day that should have been."

Sora blinked a few times, confused and groggy. Probably thinking that all of this was a figment of his imagination. "Should've been what?"

And the blonde had to tighten his grip on his fists and try his hardest not to cry, not again, but his voice cracked anyway as he choked, "Mine."

With that, the darkness won, yanking at Roxas and pulling him back. As he faded away, he watched the flourescent red lights behind Sora read 12:00a.m.

"It...should have been mine..."

But he was a _n o b o d y_, and nobodies were _never meant to exist._

**the **_**end;**_


End file.
